I have done more goodbyes in the last few months than I ever thought I would have to do. Each one is the same, yet completely different. The fact that you are saying goodbye remains the same, but the different reactions that follow still seem to catch me by surprise.
Some are easier than others. Some take a while to sink in. Yet, what they all have in common is an element of heartache. Life takes another shift the moment someone leaves. You are left an empty space from where they were. Working out what the ‘new normal’ will be without them being there…weaving themselves in and out of your days, weeks, months and years.
I wrote the following after one of the hardest goodbyes I have done this year. It made more of an impact than I was expecting. I came home, sat at my desk and couldn’t stop the words from being typed onto my computer screen.
So to all the friends that have flown back home this year (or are preparing to), pursued a new direction or have taken a leap of faith…this one’s for you.
The evening you flew away
I couldn’t stay inside this evening.
Not like I usually would.
I had to be outside, directly underneath that flight path.
Watching that aircraft with the red and white tail take you away, like it had to many travellers before.
But tonight, tonight was different.
Tonight, it was you.
I watched as that aircraft disappeared though the cloud.
Layer by layer.
Silhouette to sky.
Until there was nothing.
You had flown away. You were gone.
Out of sight, yet forever passing through my mind.
But you had to fly away. You had to find new freedoms.
You needed to let your heart soar.
Adventures you desired to take.
Places that you dreamed to breathe in.
Each one reworking your perspective.
Creating you into the person you were designed to be.
So fly far and fly free dear friend.
Find the places that set your soul on fire.
Let them shape you.
Let them make you a storyteller.
Let them illuminate the brightness in your eyes.
May you return different, so there is no doubt you are living the life you were destined to lead.
Until we meet again,
Sending hugs & smiles,
Vanessa
